Drowning about 1900

[jerper]

Hello
Can any body help with finding any information on a Frank Cross born 1879 in Romsey, Hampshire, England. I believe  he emmigrated to Canada sometime around 1900 but drowned trying to save a girl in the sea not very long after arriving in the country.
Regards
John P.

[Jacquie in Canada]

Do you have any idea where in Canada he settled? Canada doesn't have a central BMD registry as it is a provincial jurisdiction.

When Frank emigrated did he come by himself or with others? Was he married? Do you know his occupation? Do you know his exact date of birth or just the year?

Jacquie

[jerper]

Hello Jacquie,
Sorry that is all I have, it is in a letter written some 40 years ago by my father's Aunt. It reads "Mary had 3 children Richard, Annie and Frank. When their parents died they went abroad, Richard went to Australia, Annie went to South Africa. Poor Frank was only in Canada a few weeks when he jumped in the sea to save a girl and drowned. I remember it was on the Relief of Mafeking day, we were in Weybourne at the time they were having fireworks and they called for a Mr. Pearl to give him a telegram. " It was around 1899 or 1900 when the Cross family went abroad. Maybe I will never know what happened.
Regards
John Pearl

[Lisa in California]

Hi John:

It sounds like he may have arrived in Canada in the winter of 1900?

We can't assume he was located near one of the oceans, but there is a good possibility that he probably was.  (I've seen too many of my ancestor's tales proven wrong, so I doubt everything I read.)

On another note, your Pearl family isn't (originally) from Ireland, are they?  I have a friend whose family came over to Canada in the early 1800's.  John was a name was was passed down from generation to generation.

[susano]

Hello John

I have found an entry of a death by drowning of a Frank Cross in Ontario in 1902.
 
Frank Cross
Birth:  abt 1877 - England
Death: 28 Jul 1902 - Parry Sound District

If you would like the death registration information, please pm me your email address and I would be happy to send it to you.

I hope this is your Frank.

Regards,
Susan

[susano]

Hello again, John

I found an entry for an F. Cross, b abt 1878 aboard the "Parisian" from Liverpool.  The ship arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 1, 1898.  His occupation was labourer and he was destined for Gravenhurst, Ontario.

You can search the ship's passenger list at the following site.  Once you get to the Parisian passenger list for the April 1, 1898 arrival, he is the sixth entry from the bottom on page 3.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/passenger/index-e.html

I have also found an entry on the 1901 Canada Census for F. Cross, lodger, in the Muskoka and Parry Sound District of Ontario.  The entry shows his birth date as August 9, 1877, year of immigration as 1898 and occupation as clerk.

You can view this census free at  http://automatedgenealogy.com/

I hope this information is of some help to you.

Regards,
Susan

[susano]

Hello John

I've emailed you the information.  Please let me know if you do not receive it.

Thanks.

Susan

[Jacquie in Canada]

If that is your Frank Cross then the "sea" was likely Georgian Bay which is a bay of Lake Huron. Here's a link to the Town of Parry Sound's website and you'll see how it is located along the shores of Georgian Bay:
http://www.townofparrysound.com/

Jacquie

[jorose]

Here's a mention of him in 1900 as a witness at a marriage in the area:
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryc/musk00.htm

You might ask the Parry Sound library about how to access the old newspapers they have from a distance- seems like they do have a name index and might be able to help you with confirming the family story:
http://www.pspl.on.ca/localhistory.htm